8 Gadgets That Are Great Sleep Inducers

While technology can easily be blamed for a sleepless night, there are many gadgets on the market and in the common household that make great sleep inducers. From MP3 players to electric fans, there are many ways these tech gadgets can be used to help you fall asleep. Here is a list of 8 gadgets that are great sleep inducers that you can use for when you have trouble falling asleep:

1. MP3 Players

MP3 players and iPods make excellent sleep inducers depending on what type of music you are listening to. Before, a tape deck, record player, or even a CD player would require users to manually switch albums, change artists or search through songs to select the perfect tunes to listen to. Of course, you could always make a mixtape or CD, but then you would have to compile songs to record every time you wanted something different. With iPods and MP3 players, you can set multiple playlists that are perfect for helping you fall asleep.

2. White Noise Machines

White noise machines are gadgets that help you fall asleep by creating flat, soft and soothing sound effects, or background noise. Sound effects include ocean noises, sounds of the rain forest, waves crashing, a fireplace crackling and the soft patter of rain. White noise machines can also help induce sleep by drowning out annoying noises you might here when you are trying to fall asleep like traffic outside your home or a leaking faucet.

3. Ear Plug Devices

Ear plugs aren't just ear plugs anymore with modern advances in technology. There are ear plugs that feature white noise effects, and ear plugs that only block out certain decibels, but allow you to hear things in close proximity, which can be useful if the person sleeping beside you is trying to say something, or if you need to hear the alarm clock at your bedside.

4. Smartphone Apps

Smartphones are great sleeping aids because they can provide you with music and an alarm clock, all in one device. Smartphones can also download special apps that can help you fall asleep. From white noise apps to sleep tracking apps, you no longer need to spend a lot of money on special, sleep-inducing gadgets; all you need is a smartphone and a few bucks to download an application that will help you sleep.

5. Sleep Trackers

While many are still unconvinced by the effectiveness of these gadgets, sleep trackers are said to monitor a person's brain signals during sleep through the use of headphones. An example of this sleep tracking gadget is the Zeo, which uses a headband to track your brain's electric signals, then transmits them to a nearby clock that stores all the collected data. With a USB drive, you can download the data and upload it to a computer where you can log onto the Zeo website to gain useful information about your sleeping patterns, and how you can improve your sleep.

6. Noise Cancelling Headphones

Older headphones would typically require you to set your music volumes on high to drown out any ambient noises that might keep you up at night. However, noise cancelling headphones are built with technology that detects ambient noise and cancels these sounds out. With these headphones, you can listen to music at a normal volume with no static noise to disturb you.

7. Sleep Masks

Many people are familiar with sleep masks or visors to help block out any annoying light that might disturb you sleep. However, there are more technologically advanced sleep masks available that feature built in head phones to help create a perfect, sleep-inducing sphere to be worn around your head. Some sleep masks feature cushioning for your head, and pockets for your personal belongings when sleeping on the road.

8. Electric Fans

Believe it or not, the modern advances from electric fans can work wonders on how well you sleep at night. Before, you were only given a speed option and an oscillating option. Now, electric fans feature various settings, some of which are meant to mimic a cool breeze and others that were designed just for sleeping at night. Many electric fans also feature a timer now so you no longer have to worry about waking up in the middle of the night because your fan is making it too cold to sleep. Electric fans can also help induce sleep by creating a white noise effect from the whirring of the fan.